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Hickory creek mini serious bow lots of fun:
Well folks my life has moved in another direction I sold the bows that were nearly impossible for me to cock and bought the mini from Jerry. Great little bow to have fun with and hunt with. I am of the age and my worn out body requires a winch cocker to hunt or play.
This little bow is not only fun to shoot but accurate. I had to get my knee pod to steady things up I am so shakey but look out tic toters. I haven't been able to practice as much as I like. I wish as light as the bow is I could shoot better but beggars can't be choosers. Just thankful with the knee pod and an apparatus to fit in my belt and hold it to the bow I can calm the shakes enough I can get a 2" group at 20 yds. Nearly all my shoots are 15 to 20 yds. I don't shoot past 20 yds.
If you are older like me and can't cock the bow don't be afraid to get Jerry to put you a winch cocker on. I use to have a hang up about being man enough to cock the bow by hand. Not anymore just glad to be able to shoot something so small and light. Any way it's not about how you cock it the fun is still being able to shoot and hunt. Give the little bow a chance it's a real shooter.
I am not on any ones payroll I just want people to know there is small light and lots of fun bow. Don't be afraid of the winch cocker it is a piece of cake and gets weaker and older people back in the game. Thanks Larry

Crossbow -vs- Compound Bow

Patent NO. 8,671,923 B2
Patent NO. 8,622,050 B2

Crossbows and compound bows are very useful tool for hunting, but there are a number of issues to deal with when using both. We will address both the negative and positive of each to give you information so you can make an educated decision when making your purchase. Articles will also be sited to back up obvious and not so obvious issues.

SPEED/ENERGY

POWER STROKE

DRAW WEIGHT

NOISE

DRAWING THE BOW

SIZE

MASS WEIGHT

ACCURACY

Compound Bows typically have draw weights less than one half of a crossbow.

A 70 # compound bow is faster and has more energy than150# crossbow.

Speed is largely determined by the power stroke and draw weight.

Power Stroke: Power stroke is the distance the bow string travels from full draw to the rest position. A compound bow with a 30 inch draw length and a 7 inch braceheight (the distance from grip to the string at rest) has a 23 in power stroke (30-7=23).

The longer the power stroke the faster the arrow will fly at the same poundage. A person with a 30 inch draw will shoot faster than a person with 28 inch draw because of the 2 inch longer power stroke. Like the compound bow the longer the power stroke the faster the crossbow. Unlike the compound bow which only needs a module change to make the draw length longer, the crossbow has to be made longer increasing the overall length, making the bow heavier.

DRAW WEIGHT: The draw weight is the maximum amount of force it takes to draw a bow. Crossbows have a much higher draw weight (150# is average) to generate the speed and energy due to the much shorter power stroke (14” is average) of a crossbow.

VIBRATION=NOISE: While crossbows are getting faster there are several problems created because of the higher poundage. The extra energy creates more vibration which adds unwanted noise, and more noise is the last thing that a hunter needs.

DRAWING THE BOW: The high poundage of a Crossbow can make it troublesome to draw. It takes lots of muscle power to draw the high poundage or the alternative is to use a cumbersome crank that takes up to 30 seconds to draw and lock the bow between shots and is very inconvenient. They are also tough on the strings, cables, and other components requiring them to be replaced or repaired often. These are problems that you don’t typically have with a compound bow. They are quieter and the strings, cables and components will usually last for thousands of shots before needing to be replaced or repaired. But drawing the bow can still be an issue for weaker or injured persons.

SIZE: Compound bows are longer axle-axle than crossbows, but are not as cumbersome to carry through the woods. Most crossbows are around 24 inches axle-axle but are 34 inches or more in length making them heavier and harder to deal with in hunting situations.

MASS WEIGHT: Because of the over all size of the crossbow (limbs, forearm grip, and the shoulder stock) it is more than two or three times the weight of today’s compound bows, making it a chore to carry on long hunting trip.

ACCURACY: The compound bow is more accurate due to the fact of a consistent anchor point. String loops have become a must for extreme accuracy. The arrow sits between the string loop knots and the release is held on the string loop in the same place every time making it very accurate. The crossbow has to be drawn and locked into a latch where the consistent string position can be compromised, allowing for the arrow to hit the left or to the right of the target. This is why Competitive Compound Bow Shooters score higher than Cross Bow Shooters in the same tournament.

Considering all of these issues, backed by published articles from industry experts, it is not hard to see that the only real advantage that the crossbow has is being able to draw and lock it at full draw until ready to be shot. When at full draw the crossbow shooter is STILL confronted with the challenge of letting down or disarming it. It is recommended that it be shot to be disarmed.

By installing a Draw-Loc on a Compound Bow you combine the best of both Bows.